Why is Kenya producing vegetables for other countries?

From the 1960s till today, why are LDCs increasingly switching to the production of non-staples, rather than staples? Shouldn't they be producing more staples, since there is a good portion of their population who are starving?

Kenya is one of such countries. Today, many European countries, especially the United Kingdom, is relying on Kenya for most of its vegetables and flowers.

Here are 2 videos that discuss more about what's going on in Kenya:

Video: "Future of Food" (Watch from 4:25 onwards)
This is a part of Episode 2 of a BBC documentary, "Future of Food", where the host brought the team to Kenya, to see first-hand, who's producing the vegetables that's on their table.




Article and Video: "Kenyan exports stranded at airports"
When the Icelandic volcano erupted earlier this year, causing the airspace in Europe to close, Kenya is unable to export the vegetables and flowers to some of its biggest markets. What happens to the produce? Here's a look at how much Kenya's economy is relying on the production of non-staples.